Analyzing impact as 5-star quarterback Quinn Ewers flips to Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has struck it rich in Texas once more. 5-star quarterback Quinn Ewers has committed to the Buckeyes.

The country’s No. 1-ranked quarterback, Ewers had been committed to Texas for just over two months before his decision to decommitment from the Longhorns and now he’s flipped his verbal to Ryan Day, Corey Dennis and Ohio State.

A lifelong fan of Texas, Ewers decision wasn’t an easy one to make but it’s a monumental recruiting coup for the Buckeyes who have a 5-star prospect in line at the game’s most important position for a third straight cycle.

Lettermen Row is analyzing the announcement by Quinn Ewers, what his commitment means to Ohio State, the Big Ten and the national recruiting scene for the Class of 2022.

What Quinn Ewers gives Ohio State on field

It’s easy to read about the country’s No. 1-ranked quarterback and just assume that there’s huge upside on the field and that’s definitely the case for the 6-foot-3 and 205-pound Ewers.

The 5-star prospect has all the tools it takes to live up to his billing and that starts with a rocket right arm that he is capable of delivering from any arm slot or place on the field. As a sophomore at Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School, Ewers completed more than 72-percent of his passing attempts and threw for 45 touchdowns against only three interceptions and he’s continued that dominance as a junior.

The MaxPreps sophomore of the year isn’t going to wow people with his athleticism — though ran for almost eight yards a carry and more than 550 yards as a sophomore — but that’s not his game. He’s got a quick delivery capable and puts the ball where it needs to be when it needs to be there, two very rare traits for a high school quarterback.

High school quarterbacks are rarely finished products and Quinn Ewers isn’t either but his accuracy, feel for the game and natural-playmaking ability is truly next level already. For Ryan Day and Ohio State, he’s a young man well-positioned to continue what’s becoming an exceptional run of quarterback recruiting.

What pickup means for Ohio State 2022 recruiting class

What does it mean when the country’s top-ranked quarterback commits to your program?

Obviously, quite a bit.

The commitment of Ewers, on its own is huge. The fact that the Buckeyes were able to go into Texas and pull the best quarterback in America — a lifelong Texas Longhorns fan who grew up dreaming of wearing the burnt orange — is a stunning rebuke of Tom Herman’s program and a dazzling approval of what Ryan Day and Ohio State are building.

The gap between Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU and the rest of college football is growing. That’s good news for the Buckeyes, especially in the Class of 2022 which now has an absolute headliner on offense and a class leader from a national recruiting perspective. The impact on receivers, running backs and lineman around the country is undeniably big, especially in Texas where standouts like Caleb Burton and Armani Winfield reside.

So now comes the matter of what do the Buckeyes do with that? Ohio State is involved with a number of big-time prospects from coast-to-coast and a number of those young people have begun having in-depth conversations about their desire to play football together in college. Offensive players and defensive players, many of whom are littering the Top-25 player rankings, are working through that possibility and the addition of Ewers right now puts the Buckeyes in a very unique and advantageous position.

How Quinn Ewers impacts the 2022 recruiting rankings

Now that Ewers is in the mix, Ohio State has grown its lead on LSU as the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. And things are only bound to get better from this point. Ohio State’s place atop the Big Ten has been solidified over the last few years and now the Buckeyes are positioned for a truly special run in the Class of 2022.

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